Crucial Business Strategy Gets Ignored By Most

Here’s a article by David Dee that I came across recently. This article from Dee really ‘nails’ the importance of good marketing to grow a business and it’s revenue.

I’ve lost count the number of times I’ve seen business owners ‘mess’ this up and focus on the ‘wrong’ thing. In Australia 94% of businesses never reach $1 Million in annual sales (source ABS data). I firmly believe this is the main reason for that statistic.

By: Dave Dee on: August 15th, 2013

If you know me at all, you know that I like to eat well.

I especially enjoy fine food and wine and restaurants that offer top notch service with Alinea, in Chicago, topping the list.

From my experiences and what I’ve read about the restaurant industry, it’s clear to me that the world’s top rated chefs are devoted to improving their cooking skills. Many "up and coming" chefs go to great expense to study with master chefs in hopes of winning a spot for their restaurant on the list of the world’s 50 best restaurants. They work years "paying their dues" with the goal of being recognized for their accomplishments.

But they are making an enormous mistake.

And they are not alone. Most business owners make the exact same mistake.

It costs them money, time and worse, it kills the chance for many from ever coming close to being recognized as one of the best.

Can you guess what it is?

When I was a professional magician, I made this mistake too… for a really long time.

You see all the literature for magicians focused on increasing my skills. I was taught that if I just kept practicing and practicing to get better and better, fame and fortune would follow.

The mistake I was making? I focused too much on getting good at being a magician instead of getting good at marketing my magic business.

These restaurants are making the same mistake. And I can prove it.

Name one restaurant on the world’s best restaurant list. (Without looking it up.) Now try and name one of the top fast food restaurants.

Clearly the restaurants on the "50 best restaurants in the world" list have far superior food than fast food restaurants. But I’m willing to bet you can guess several of the top fast food restaurants on the list whereas you can’t name even one of the best restaurants in the world.

And I bet the fast food restaurants make more money…a lot more money… too.

It wasn’t until I changed my thinking from being a "doer" of my service to a "marketer" of my service that the money started rolling in (and it happened fast).

That’s the first mistake you’ll want to eliminate too. Stop putting the emphasis on getting good at what you do…and shift your thinking to getting good at marketing and selling what you do.

And yes this is true for any business or profession…doctors, lawyers, car mechanics, financial professionals and on and on.

The second big mistake is not having lead generation systems in place to attract your ideal clients, customers, or patients.

Lead generation is the lifeblood of your business. If you have enough quality leads pouring in on a consistent basis, and you know how to turn those leads into customers by knowing how to close sales, EVERYTHING CHANGES FOR YOU. And I’m not talking about a minor improvement in your business but a total TRANSFORMATION.

When I put lead generation systems and sales strategies in place, my life changed. I started making more money in a week than I used to make all year. And again, it happened fast.

Don’t get me wrong. Being excellent at what you do is important and you should aim to become better at what you do. After all, people will tell others that your food or your service or your product is good. Conversely, if you don’t deliver a good product or service, the word will quickly get out quickly too.

But without lead generation systems or knowing how to sell, even the most skilled practitioner will fail.

Make the mental shift from a "doer" to a "marketer" and "seller" of your product or service. It’s a game changer.

About the author. I’m Mark Fregnan, founder of Kinetic Media & Marketing, an Australian marketing consulting company that delivers more customers and clients and greater sales for our clients. Don’t waste money on expensive trial-and-error, contact us for more information on our range of proven marketing system solutions and take the shortcut to more sales and profit.